Kadeeja Zayana

FC -VI NORWAY
 TRADE AGREEMENTS

• Norway, along with, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland, is a member of the

European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

• EFTA members, with the exception of Switzerland, participate in the European

Economic Area (EEA) accord.

• Norway has implemented, most EU trade policies and regulations.

• As an EEA signatory, Norway assumes most of the rights and obligations of EU

Member States, except in the agricultural and fishery sectors.

• Norway grants preferential tariff rates to EEA members.

 TRADE SUMMARY

• Goods trade surplus of $402 million in 2017 to a goods trade deficit of $1.3 billion in 2018. \

• U.S. goods exports to Norway increased by 0.1 % from the previous year.

• U.S. imports from Norway increased 33.5%.

• U.S. exports of services to Norway ,$3.1 billion and U.S. imports $3.0 billion.

• Sales of services in Norway by U.S.-owned affiliates were $5.8 billion ,while in the United States
by majority Norway-owned firms $1.8 billion.

IMPORT POLICIES

• Except for agricultural products, Norway’s market is generally open.

 Tariffs

• Norway dismantled tariffs on industrial products on a unilateral basis.

• Norway’s MFN tariff on non agricultural products averages 0.5%, and more than 95 % of
industrial tariff lines are currently duty free.
• Norway bound its agricultural tariffs in 1995 as part WTO.
• Tariffication of agricultural nontariff barriers as a result of the Uruguay Round led to the
replacement of several agricultural products with high ad valorem or specific tariffs.
• In 2017 Norway’s MFN applied tariff was 42.1 % for agricultural goods & 0.5 % for non
agricultural goods.
• EEA accord does not generally apply to agricultural products, but it includes provisions on raw
material price compensation that are meant to increase trade in processed food.
• Norway has a special agreement within the EEA , results in applying a preferential duty on EU
processed food products.
• covers a wide range of products, including bread and baked goods, breakfast cereals, chocolate
and other candies, ice cream, pasta, pizza, soups, and sauces.
• This is a disadvantage to other countries exporters of processed foods.
Nontariff Barriers

• Although Norway is less than 50 percent self-sufficient in agricultural production, it maintains

tariff rates on agricultural products as high as several hundred percent to protect domestic
agricultural interests.
• Domestic agricultural shortages and price surges are offset by temporary tariff reductions. a lack
of predictability in tariff adjustments and insufficient advance notification of these adjustments ,
favor nearby European suppliers and make export of products from the United States, especially
fruits, vegetables, and other perishable horticultural products, very difficult.
• For a number of processed food products, tariffs are applied based on a product’s ingredients,
Many exporters to the Norwegian market refuse to provide all requested details and, as a result,
their products are subject to maximum tariffs.
• Norway maintains a price reduction regime that includes subsidies for using certain
domestically-produced raw materials in processed foods.
• Products for which such subsidies are paid include chocolate, ice cream (for milk and glucose),
pizza (for cheese and meat), and sweets.
Government monopolies

• The wine and spirits retail market in Norway is controlled by the government monopoly,
“Vinmonopolet.”
• Products chosen for sale through Vinmonopolet must meet annual minimum sales quotas;
otherwise, they are dropped from the basic inventory list.
• Existing wine suppliers benefit from exposure in Vinmonopolet stores, and the market entry
challenges for other wines are exacerbated by the strict ban on advertising alcoholic beverages.

TECHNICAL BARIERS TO TRADE / SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY BARRIERS

• In 2018, the Public Health Minister called for Norway to regulate energy drinks.
• As a member of the EEA, Norway applies certain EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations,
with the exception of regulations relating to plant health.
• In 2018, Norway notified only two SPS measures to the WTO (both were plant health-related
measures), despite the obligation to notify proposed SPS measures to the WTO and take
comments into consideration prior to finalizing its SPS measures.
• With limited exceptions, Norway has effectively banned the importation of agricultural
biotechnology products by implementing extremely restrictive policies for crops derived from
such technology.
• The restrictions include prohibiting farmers from cultivating biotechnology crops and using
biotechnology feed for farm animals.
• Norway applies regulations developed by the EU that ban imports of beef from animals treated
with hormones, despite the absence of scientific evidence demonstrating that this practice poses
any risk to human health.

GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
• Foreign pharmaceutical companies active in Norway have raised concerns regarding government
procurement procedures for pharmaceuticals, including a lack of detailed information on the
selection process for winning bidders, a lack of adequate time to bid, and a lack of protection for
confidential information that may prejudice fair competition.
 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTION
• recent legislative developments, enforcement actions, and the increased availability of
authorized copyright-protected works online have had a positive effect on reducing Internet
piracy.
• Norway needs to continue its efforts to combat online piracy, such as by clarifying the
circumstances under which Internet Service Providers are required to provide information about
the identity of subscribers.

INVESTMENT BARRIERS

• Foreign companies wishing to own or use various kinds of real property must seek prior approval
from the government.
• In the petroleum sector, Norway’s discretionary concession process appears to have historically
favoured Norwegian interests.
• Direct foreign ownership of hydropower resources is prohibited in Norway, except in rare
instances in which the government allows foreign investment up to 20 percent equity.